Incumbent Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen won a place on the Republican ticket to face Democrat Thomas Yanac Jr. in the November general election.

Allen defeated Mark Philips by a 2-1 margin Tuesday in the race for coroner, according to unofficial results.

Allen, 70, a Republican living in Saylorsburg, has been with the Coroner's Office for more than 20 years.

The previous owner of Lanterman & Allen Funeral Home, who sold the East Stroudsburg business several years ago, he commands a 12-deputy staff handling over 1,000 cases per year.

A graduate of both Youngstown University and the Cincinnati Institute of Mortuary Science in Ohio who became a Pennsylvania-licensed funeral director in 1967, Allen is active with the Blue Ridge Cherry Valley Rod and Gun Club, Monroe County Republican Committee, Pocono Medical Center Ambassador Board and Pennsylvania Coroners Association.

Yanac, 37, a Democrat living in East Stroudsburg, is a Pennsylvania-licensed funeral director at Lanterman & Allen Funeral Home in East Stroudsburg.

A graduate of Luzerne Community College in Nanticoke and Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Yanac founded the Friends Helping Friends Bereavement Group in East Stroudsburg and attends St. John's Roman Catholic Church in Marshalls Creek.

Philips, 51, a Republican living in Stroudsburg, joined the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in 1984 and is now a sergeant there. He is a member of the Monroe County Drug Task Force and Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Counter-Terrorism Task Force.